Sprung Monkey Making Waves

For over a decade San Diego’s hard-hitting rock band Sprung Monkey has been a part of San Diego’s surf and skate culture. The band could be described as the poster children of California’s laid-back lifestyle. They are also known for contributing songs to numerous surf films including Taylor Steele’s “Momentum”, which introduced surfing icons, like Kelly Slater and Rob Machado to the world. The film also helped to launch Sprung’s career and led the band to major tours and festivals in United States, Europe, and Australia.

The band’s break out success that followed “Momentum” included a slot at the world famous KROQ’s Weenie Roast, a top position on the Billboard chart, musical guests on the Conan O’Brian Show and song placement in big screen movies like “Dude Where’s my Car?”, and a live appearance on Buffy the Vampire Slayer. The bands relentless work ethic and tour schedule earned them spots on the Van’s Warped Tour, ESPN’s X-Games, but their relationship with the surf and skate world doesn’t stop there.

Sprung’s music hasn’t only influenced filmmakers like Steele but also the surfers that heard the music in their films. When Solspot talked to Mick Fanning about Sprung Monkey he told us “The music Sprung Monkey created back in the 90s was seared into my brain. The sounds were a huge part of the Taylor Steele Momentum films that I would watch religiously on a day-to-day basis. Their style was the perfect amp up sound to go with the fast high performance surfing that was happening at the time. They definitely shaped myself and the way I watched surf movies”. Many other pro surfers are friends and supporters of the band as well.

Recently, Sprung Monkey and Taylor Steele teamed together to celebrate the anniversary of “Momentum” touring Australia and the United States with a screening of the film and live performance by the band. Over the past few years the guys have been exploring, growing and focusing their musical talents to write some of their best music to date which continues to fuel and embrace the classic Spring Monkey sound and the California lifestyle that their music embodies.

What are they up to now? Sprung Monkey is currently on the road touring the west coast with Suicidal Tendencies. Their latest record “Dead is Dead”, dropped this week on Pacific Records.